Canadian shares seesawed between gains and losses as a slump among commodity producers offset gains in financial shares.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) was little changed at 15,103.19 at 12:46 p.m. in Toronto. Three shares declined for every two issues that declined as six out of ten main share groups were in the negative territory.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, fell 1.6 percent as oil, Canada’s largest export, dropped by more than 2 percent. Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, skidded 1.5 percent to C$36.04. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, was little changed at $61.88.
June crude traded at $57.98 a barrel, down 2.4 percent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Nymex June contract expires at the close of trading. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell 2.2 percent to $64.79 a barrel.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, slid 0.7 percent as gold fell. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, slumped 1.9 percent to C$22.88. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, lost 2.3 percent to C$15.44.
Turquoise Hill Resources (TSE:TRQ), the Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the Asia Pacific region, soared 4.8 percent to C$5.49 after Mongolia and parent Rio Tinto Group settled a dispute over the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine.
Imperial Metals (TSE:III) sank 5.5 percent to C$12.10 after its top shareholder agreed to provide additional funds to the copper miner after a delay to the start of production.
Gold for June delivery on Comex dropped as much as $22 to tap an intraday low of $1,205.60. It was recently down 1.6 percent at $1,208 an ounce.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, rose 0.7 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, gained 0.8 percent to C$79.41. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, advanced 0.8 percent to C$55.81.
ProMetic Life Sciences (TSE:PLI) jumped 4.6 percent to C$2.49 after saying it has entered a long-term strategic manufacturing agreement that provides it with access to additional manufacturing capacity in an FDA-licensed facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It said it will use the capacity to develop and make plasma-derived biopharmaceuticals.
Cineplex (TSE:CGX) fell 0.7 percent to C$48.96, reversing an earlier rally. The company declared a monthly dividend of 13 Canadian cents a share for May, up from 12.5 Canadian cents in April.
Legumex Walker (TSE:LWP) tumbled 2.6 percent to C43.43 after the crop processor said first-quarter revenue fell 33 percent and its net loss widened from a year earlier.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) dropped 0.2 percent to 693.92 at 12:32 p.m. in Toronto.
In economic news, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said today that the Canadian economy remains on track for a partial rebound in the second quarter as non-energy exports and other positive forces continue to build.
In the U.S. market, shares were slightly lower as investors digested a report indicating a share increase in housing starts last month. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) was flat at 2,129 at 11:47 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added 0.1 percent to 18,311, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) skidded 0.2 percent to 5,070. Most followed shares included Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Urban Outfitters, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Royal Caribbean Cruises, TJX, Lumber Liquidators, Take-Two Interactive Software, Agilent Technologies, and Medtronic.